La prevenzione del gioco d’azzardo problematico negli adolescenti attraverso l’adattamento del video Lucky

Abstract

Introduction

Research demonstrates that today's youth are very much involved in gambling. As they take part in these activities, young people develop and maintain irrational thoughts about gambling that may evolve into serious gambling problems.

Materials and methods

A French-Canadian video specifically designed to correct misconceptions and increase knowledge about gambling (Le hasard, Lucky, on peut rien y changer produced by R. Ladouceur of the Centre Québécois d’Excellence pour la Prévention et le Traitement du Jeu, Université Laval) was translated, adapted, and dubbed into Italian. The video was then tested on 220 8^th grade students in Italy to test the following hypotheses: 1) that the efficacy of the film would not be dependent on the cultural and/or language background of the audience; 2) that the results of the intervention would persist over time. The video was shown alone or followed by a 60-min classroom discussion with two expert psychologists. Results in these groups were compared with those obtained in a control group (no exposure). All participants completed questionnaires before the intervention, after intervention, and 6 months after the intervention.

Results

The video significantly improved the students’ knowledge of gambling and corrected their misconceptions, as demonstrated by questionnaire responses after the intervention and 6 months later. These changes persisted over time even if the video viewing was not supplemented by classroom discussion with expert psychologists.

Conclusions

These results show that importing and adapting tools created abroad for the prevention of gambling problems is not only feasible but also effective.